Day of Decision Rally draws hundreds

In what was by far Dallas’ largest gay-rights demonstration since the one outside City Hall following Prop 8’s passage in November, hundreds of people gathered on the Cedar Springs strip Tuesday night to protest the California Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

The Day of Decision Rally, organized by Queer Liberaction, wasn’t scheduled to begin until 7 p.m., but by 6:30 dozens of people were already gathered around the Legacy of Love Monument at the Oak Lawn Triangle, waving protest signs and Pride flags, chanting slogans and cheering at the horns of passing motorists.

The crowd appeared to swell to nearly 500 before they marched west down Cedar Springs Road in a display reminiscent of the annual Pride parade, then gathered on the patio of Throckmorton Mining Co. A handful of police officers looked on from across Cedar Springs as a series of speakers addressed the crowd through a megaphone, but there were no arrests or other incidents.